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By Deputy Chief Ed Sweeney, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Department of Public Affairs
— Spring 2006
A couple purchased a used 18-foot runabout and decided to venture out the very next day. Without so much as a cursory onboard equipment check, they invited a friend along for an early-afternoon cruise up the Sacramento River. It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and the temperature was in the mid-50s, just a few degrees warmer than the water. The trio enjoyed about two hours on the river without incident.
Then, without warning, the vessel’s engine stopped. Having no alternative means of propulsion, nor basic safety equipment like an anchor or VHF, the boat and occupants found themselves at the mercy of the 3-knot current, local navigational hazards, and weather changes, any of which could have made their maiden voyage their last. Trying to remain calm, they reasoned that the downstream current would just float them to the launch ramp from which they had set sail.
As the afternoon progressed and the sun began to lower in the late-November sky, the winds kicked up. The temperature dropped to just below 50 degrees. The threesome, clad in jeans and long-sleeved shirts, had no jackets or blankets aboard, nor did they have even a cuddy cabin to shield themselves from the elements.
They continued drifting down the river toward a wing dam, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tool that diverts a river’s flow into a center channel to minimize the need for dredging. If a boat goes over a wing dam, it can suffer propeller, outdrive, and hull damage, and it can get lodged in the dam or even capsize.
It was about 4:15 p.m. when the Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel Sar Trek, on patrol in the upper Sacramento River, noticed the runabout. The Auxiliary crew realized the boat was drifting toward the wing dam and so approached the disabled craft and towed it about 100 feet back into the center of the channel.
“It was fortunate that we were right in the area,” recalls Davis Bogue, the coxswain aboard Sar Trek. “It was pretty cold out, the sun was going down, and there were no other vessels in the area. They could have gotten stuck out there for a long time, and given the fact that the air temperature was only about 50 degrees, hypothermia might have set in quickly.”
Had the boat gotten stuck in the wing dam or capsized, the situation would have worsened quickly, since the three boaters were not wearing PFDs. As Leanne Sweeney, flotilla commander of Gold Country Flotilla 33, put it, “The potential for disaster was great.”
What lessons can we learn from this near disaster?
First, always wear PFDs while underway, even if you are a good swimmer. Each year, drowning accounts for 80 to 90 percent of all boating fatalities, the majority a result of simple failure to wear a PFD. PFDs also can provide extra warmth and stave off the effects of hypothermia.
Third, always dress for the water temperature, not the air temperature, and carry extra clothing in case the weather takes a turn for the worse. When it comes to the weather, know before you go and plan accordingly.
Fourth, make sure your vessel is safe, has all the required safety equipment, and is in good operating condition. To review what equipment is legally required and recommended, visit www.safetyseal.net/index.asp.
Last, be sure to file a float plan with a friend or family member on shore, just in case the unexpected happens and you find yourself in need of assistance. (Don’t expect a Coast Guard Auxiliary craft to simply happen upon you, as occurred in this case.) Your float plan should provide all the details rescuers would need should you be overdue or missing. To get a downloadable copy, visit www.floatplan.uscgaux.info.
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